Every week on Monday morning, the Council and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher’s Forum with short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture or daily living. This week’s question: Did You Watch The SuperBowl this Weekend? Why or Why Not?
The Independent Sentinel: I don’t like football, I don’t like Super Bowl parties, and the only good thing were tail gate parties which they banned. I can’t wait until it’s over. I’d rather have bamboo shoots driven up my nails than watch the game.
The Razor: For the first time since returning to this country 17 years ago I did not watch the Super Bowl. It’s not because I don’t love the sport. I grew up playing pick-up games of football in my suburban neighborhood, and was raised by a father who convinced me (when I was quite young) that Notre Dame never lost football games because “they are G-d’s team.” It’s just that the sport has reached a point where the men playing it have pushed themselves beyond the point of sanity in terms of safety, and the billionaires who own the league risk too much tax free lucre by changing it. While the men playing it choose to damage their bodies, and as has become apparent, their minds, I cannot in good conscience support the sport in any way.
I realize that places my opinion in the minority, and among the nanny types who would pass any legislation that would make any activity safer and less enjoyable. Adults being free to do whatever they want to their bodies is the Libertarian ideal, I don’t want to see the sport banned although I would like to see Congress remove the special tax treatment the league and its monopoly of owners enjoy. In some eyes my conscience makes me appear to be a wimp, and that’s fine. I have a strong inner compass that decades of experience have taught me to follow and I am doing so when it comes to refusing to watch professional football. So I’ll probably watch Downton Abbey instead (wimp factor shot up even more by admitting that).
GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD: Uh, well, see…actually wasn’t til researching this very topic – yours truly learned the Super Bowl and the World Series are like two totally diff things.
Being innocent in the ways of organized and unorganized sports – checking out the half time thingy is like my only participation. Love the commercials and Bruno Mars is gon rock it this year.
Plan to dine on steak fingers (prime rib – natch) with home built horseradish, custom salad washed down with copious amounts of black Guinness, Stoli with ginger ale and me own especial blend of unsweet tea (6 bags each of Twinnings decaff Earl Grey and decaff Green Tea per brew).
Just wish the ‘Lanta Braves could get in on the Super Bowl one day.
The Right Planet: I quit watching the Super Bowl after the Colts lost it–which I am convinced was a plot by the Illuminati to demoralize the Indianapolis’ populace for the coming New World Order. Additionally, I’m convinced the Super Bowl ads are manipulating our DNA; turning men into testosterone-crazed patriarchal beasts, not to mention ultra-jingoists.
p.s. The first person that responds to this with “are you serious?” will be removed from the blogrolls on my site, not to mention unfollowed on Twitter. But most of you aren’t following me on Twitter anyway. So, I’ll have to think of another punishment for the satirically-challenged. But, trust me, it will be beastly, I can guarantee you that.
Carry on,
Brentonious Maximus
Virginia Right!: I will be watching the Superbowl as I have since Superbowl #1. I have not missed a single Superbowl, although I have watched them with varying degrees of interest in the game itself.
My team (since 1963 – 1964) is the Colts. Baltimore and later Indy. So when the Colts play, obviously I am keen to watch the game and less interested in the social event sometimes going on around me. And the Colts are 2-2 in the 4 Superbowls they have played.
When I watch the game with interest it is usually because my team is playing or I specifically hate one of the teams. The New England Patriots are the one team I consistently want to see lose. In fact, my 2 favorite teams are the Indy Colts and whoever is playing the Patriots.
This year, the Patsies are not there, nor are the Colts.
But I am a big fan of former Colt Peyton Manning. And several of the Denver players are former Colts. So my interest in the game this year will be above average as far as the game, and I will be pulling for the Broncos as will most Colt fans.
Alas, I will be sitting at home watching the game from my recliner.
But in my younger years I almost always managed to find a Superbowl party.
For several decades my brother hosted a party and most of the gang from the neighborhood where we grew up would show up. I did the Buffalo wings (after they were invented) and I always made a big batch os fresh salsa. The secret is using fresh lime juice and fresh cilantro, as well as fresh sweet onions and both fresh and canned tomatoes.
And these were the type of parties where a designated driver was in order. Large fishing coolers packed with beer and ice are strategically placed around the house and televisions were tuned in on several TV’s in different rooms. So there were multiple parties going on and you could move from room to room and catch up on what everyone has been up to in the last year.
My family is well aware of my obsession with football. If there is a family event it must be planned around football, or include football as the center of the event. This is too awkward at baby showers so I am excused. But it works out well at Thanksgiving.
My wife was never much of a football fan. In fact, quite the opposite until one of the Colts players became a client. She tries but does not understand the game which often leads to really inappropriate cheers. Our client is a Safety so he is usually positioned well down field. In one game this season, the Colts opponent threw a long pass down field that was completed and our client finally tackled the receiver. My wife cheered????
I asked what she was cheering about and she thought it was a good thing that our favorite Colt tackled the receiver after a 40 yard gain.
I was amused, but then, I was NOT AMUSED.
I have been blessed with two children. Both grown now. My son is not much of a fan but my daughter shares my obsession with the game – down to her custom license plates.
She is married and lives an hour away and her husband is not much of a football fan, but he grew up in Ohio where all they had was the Browns and the Bengals. So it is understandable.
But she and I watch the Colts game every week and burn up the texts on good plays, bad calls and stupid plays too!
We will be text-watching today. We are both pulling for Peyton. Snd even though she is having a small gathering at her house, she will be tea-totaling as well because she is expecting the next generation of Colt fan to arrive just prior to the 2014 pre-season.
And did I mention that both of my kids were planned for the off season? My son was born just after the draft and my daughter just prior to the start of pre-season.
I long for a 3 generation Colts Superbowl in the not too distant future.
JoshuaPundit: I won’t be watching and haven’t in decades. I’ll plead guilty to not being a football fan in the slightest, which is odd because I used to be real fan as a kid and played on my school teams up through 9th grade. One of the rituals of the kids in my neighborhood was to grab a football, walk up to a park up near a school where there wasn’t much if any supervision, choose up sides and play no holds barred tackle. Of course, we didn’t wear helmets or protection…just good clean ultraviolence with the occasional split lip, bloody nose or sprained limb. It was tons of fun, because we did it on our own with no adults messing with it or ‘supervising’, and public parks back then were not he abode of gang bangers,perverts, the mentally ill or drug dealers so it was safe.
I don’t follow sports at all, and the only sports I can really occasionally enjoy watching as a spectator seem to be soccer (my letter in high school), and baseball (I love the zen aspect and how multiple things are always going on behind the scenes).
For football fans on this board, I recommend they get acquainted with the Canadian version if you can find it. The Canadian game features 3 downs, a wider field, and the ability to score a point from the field by kicking the ball into the end zone. It’s a much faster gamer, and more wide open, and I used to enjoy watching it in Canada on occasion. As an added plus, when dog torturer Michael Vick’s agent sent out feelers to the CFL teams about having him play there, they universally turned him down, saying that the wouldn’t want someone like that playing in their league or as a model for Canadian youth. I like that attitude.
David Gerstman of Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Until the past decade or so I wasn’t a big football fan. I used to enjoy watching the Super Bowl, but not much else.
In recent years with the Ravens doing well and my sons enjoying football, I’ve taken a liking to the game. Watching games with my sons is a nice Sunday afternoon family activity.
I guess what’s great about football is how it all can come down to one play.
In the famous 1991 Super Bowl, Buffalo kicking Scott Norwood missed a field goal as time expired. He was a pretty good kicker for his day, but he will probably be known for this one failure rather than for his full career.
That Superbowl would end up being the first of four consecutive Superbowl losses for Bills.
It’s not fair but that’s the way the game goes.
Skipping forward two decades …
Two years ago I watched as the Raven came oh so close to a Superbowl. They were trailing New England by three and Flacco hit receiver Lee Evans in the end zone for what would likely have been a game winning touchdown. Evans had the ball, but before he could get a second foot down a defender, got his hand in and knocked the ball loose.
All was not over. Billy Cundiff who had been as close to a sure thing a year earlier came on for a game tying field goal from 32 yards and pulled it wide left. I still remember watching the kick sail wide of the goal posts in disbelief.
Evans and Cundiff were no longer with the Ravens last year as they went to the Superbowl. But if the Ravens run two years ago came to a botched play or two, it was a couple of miraculous plays that got them into the Superbowl last year.
For shear memorability, the play of the regular season that marks the Ravens’ run last year was a fourth and 29 situation against the San Diego Charges. With less than two minutes to play the Ravens had go nearly thirty yards to keep their hopes alive and boost their record to 9 – 2. (They lost four of their last five games before the playoffs.) Joe Flacco couldn’t find anyone downfield, but he found his reliable running back, Ray Rice short.
Yes, he just made it, but that play kept the game and the Ravens’ season alive.
In the playoffs, the play that everyone talks about is Joe Flacco’s 70 yard completion to Jacoby Jones against this year’s AFC champion, Denver Broncos that led to a tie. The Ravens would win in overtime.
I stood next my son, having given up on the game. He was yelling “no way!” I was yelling “Way!” You don’t see plays like that every day.
I don’t have strong rooting interest in the Super Bowl, though I prefer Denver. I’d love to see Peyton Manning win his second Super Bowl and Champ Bailey win his first.
While I think that nothing is more exciting than a close game decided by one play with time running out, I have to admit that when having a rooting interest in a team, I prefer a blowout so that there’s no last minute nail biting.
One last thought. These players are highly skilled athletes. Even the worst of whom is a heck of a player. They have to make split second decisions and even adapt to a changing situation on the field instantly. I never really appreciated football until I started paying attention more. And that’s why I’ll watch as much of the Superbowl as I can this evening.
The Colossus of Rhodey: I watched the Super Bowl as I have watched every Super Bowl since I was a boy of about six. I have been a Rams (Los Angeles, St. Louis) fan since 1972, and was a nervous wreck during their three SB appearances (1979 against Pittsburgh — loss, 1999 against Tennessee — win, and 2001 against New England — loss). Their only SB victory in the 1999 Kurt Warner cinderella season was one of the happiest moments of my life.
I love football. I never played it in high school or club, but always played it in the neighborhood with my friends and acquaintances, touch and tackle. It is by far my fave sport to watch, too. I love the tactics, planning, and rules/regulations. I think the officiating, however, may be among the worst in professional sports.
AskMarion: Being married to a fan of ‘all’ sports and a former punter (high school and college) and having both been a cheerleader myself and having a daughter who was a cheerleader, after years of watching more games than I would like to remember, I now only watch the games that matter in my book. I watch the Super Bowl, the World Series, the UCLA vs. USC Football game, the Rose Bowl game after the Rose Parade and the final game or two of the Hockey playoffs, plus the Olympics. Pretty much the only exception to that is if we go to a live game and then I’ll go watch pretty much anything.
So yes I watched the Super Bowl. Broncos or Seahawks? There was certainly a case to be made for both in Super Bowl XLVIII, but I was rooting for Denver; for Peyton Manning because of his miraculous comeback after surgery and being traded. And I’m rooting against Pete Carroll because I am a Southern California UCLA gal married to a USC Trojan and I feel that Carroll left USC in the lurch for the pros knowing what was coming… restricted from bowl games for two years; lost a couple dozen scholarships per year for 5 years, making their rosters very thin; plus they lost their Heisman for Reggie Bush and their 2005 National Title for recruiting violations under his (Carroll’s) watch. He obviously didn’t bleed Cardinal and Gold nor live up to the loyalty bar they set and preach to their players.
As for the game itself, there is nothing like being there… but a good Super Bowl event or party can be great fun. And of course the food and drink, whether you are at the stadium, tailgating… which they have banned for this game and many others these days, at a party or at home is a big part of it. Bring on the ribs…
On a side note, if everyone was like me, TV commercials would be a waste of time and money for the advertisers; I completely tune them out. But the Super Bowl always has a few new good ones so I try to tune in. One great one was: Budweiser Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial — “A Hero’s Welcome”
I sadly see ‘American’ Football as a dying sport, and I say sadly for I accidentally ended up watching the movie We Are Marshall the other night and it reminded me of how much football is ingrained into our national DNA and how loyalty, pride and unity of spirit is never higher than at a high school or college football game. But its demise seems inevitable for a myriad of contributing factors:
- Lawsuits by Players for Injuries and Conditions They Knew Were Possibilities and Part of the Game
- Emasculation or Wussification of Men by and in our Society
- Rule Changes to the Game That Make it Tedious and Boring
- Fluoride in the Water in most of America
- Boys Being Raised By Moms With No Male Role Models
- Players Who Complain About What Used to Be Considered Manly and Toughening Experiences
- Sensitivity Training
- Lawsuits for Men Even Looking at Women Cross-Eyed
- Endless Examples on Television of Men Who Are Spineless, Incompetent and Effeminate That Always Lose to Their Female Counterparts
- The Shift in the Roles of Men and Women
- Greedy Owners
- Drug Use by Players
- A Shift to Self-Promotion and Focus on Personal Stats by Players Instead of on Teamwork and the Team’s Record
- Lack of work ethic and lack of vision or willingness to sacrifice or pay your dues for opportunities
- Diminishment of Coaches Power
- Greedy Players and Cheerleaders (There was a time when internships or opportunities to be seen or to build your resume were considered Gold Mine opportunities.)
- And for a combination of reasons listed above, Progressive hate football and have made the game a target.
A large part of the reason America is fading is that we have become a wussified society, both physically and in character. What is that old Paula Cole song… Where have all the cowboys gone? I hear young women ask that questions all the time. Our men have become whimps and whiners instead of warriors and winners. We are down to Football, Hockey and Rugby Players, Cowboys, the Military… especially Special Forces types… since now our regular military is not going to even have to prove that they can do a single pull-up, and then there is that small percentage of American grassroots patriots who are willing to stand for their families and principles at any cost. However, the deterioration and changes in the game of football really are a mirror of what is happening in and to America.
So what I would really like to see for both Football (and America) is a return to yesteryear, or lets get the torture over with and dump Football, replace it with Rugby which would incorporate players from all over the world who are not whiners and whimps and may perhaps help American men find themselves and who they were meant to be. And Rugby, even though it is perhaps even a tougher game than football played without all the pads, does not have all the head injuries and concussions that we are seeing in our football players, which would certainly be a win. And for the U.S., dump 98% if the beltway incumbents in Washington and even state and local politics who were first elected before 2010, elect no more recycled Washington types like Hillary in 2014 or 2016 and make a shift to people of character with the guts to make the changes needed.
In the end… everything is connected! As Charles Krauthammer said in an interview with Bret Baier about his latest book: Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics, sometime between his accident and the process of getting his degree and finishing Med School to become a Psychiatrist he realized that everything in life is affected by politics (and religion) in one way or another, therefore touching all the Things That Matter in our lives… even football and the Super Bowl.
But back to this year’s Super Bowl for the moment… Congrats Seahawks! Great job today!
Bookworm Room: I like to watch the Super Bowl. I like seeing men be manly. Football’s good for that. I like seeing people at the top of their game (literally). The Super Bow is good for that. I like seeing the creativity and pop culture of the year’s best commercials. The Super Bowl is good for that too. In a highly partisan America, I like being part of a great all-American tradition — which is, of course, the Super Bowl. Lastly, to the extent that the Left is working overtime to destroy the great all-American tradition that is football and the Super Bowl, I feel that it’s my patriotic duty to watch the game.
The Glittering Eye: Not watching because not interested. As best as I can tell there are two reasons to watch the Super Bowl: the ads and wardrobe malfunctions. Since both will be available online somewhere, I don’t see any particular reason to suffer through the game.
Well, there you have it.
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No, I was sorting out my sock drawer.